Soto didn’t wait for the new year to change his eating habits. He has
dropped 40 pounds since the 2009 season ended on Oct. 4. He’ll need a
new uniform. Soto went from a size 42 waist to size 36.

“I felt I needed to do something, I felt I needed to go to the
next level,” said Soto, who had been listed in the Cubs media guide at
a polite 230 pounds. “I felt I needed to show my teammates I’m really
into this, I really want to play, I want to play hard, I’m committed to
this and I want to win.

Craig, your articulation skills seem to have diminished quite a bit since becoming a full-time writer. Eyebrow hair? Who the hell wants to read about that in a sports blog? Your previous post had the word “suck” in the headline, and described arbitration participants as “pissed off”. Why the regression? Do you feel your readers here are sophmoric? Oh well, at least I noticed you stopped using “abortion” in relation to baseball issues. Thanks for that.

God forbid someone have a sense of humor and no stick up their ass while also giving us high quality baseball and legal analysis. Get off your high horse before you fall off and break a hip.
You should have been an abortion. Maybe you were conceived with a weak semen and didn’t get born with a fully-developed sense of humor.

Craig,
I know you’re not the type to engage in wild speculation, but isn’t Geovany Soto THE perfect example of a PED-cheat? He never had much power in the minors over a number of years and then in ’07 he breaks out to become PCL MVP or some such thing and then wins ROY in ’08, hitting 20+ HRs each season. Then in ’09, Geo reverts back to being the average/below average player he had always been and then mysteriously drops 40 lbs. in one off-season. If he comes out hitting like Jason Kendall…
I am a die-hard Cubs fan so I don’t like saying it, but doesn’t his record seem a bit fishy?

I see what you’re saying, but Geo was fat. It’s not like he didn’t have 40 pounds of fat to lose. The power came during his 25 & 26 year old seasons, not all that uncommon. He also had a shoulder injury last year, who knows how much power that took away.
I may also be letting my Cub fan show……..

I dunno, Tim. With the disclaimer that (a) like you said, I don’t like to speculate; and (b) players who have come up in the post-testing regime are entitled to even more of a presumption of innocence than those who came before, I still don’t know that I’d buy it.
Catchers develop later than others, so the PCL power surge is not really a surprise to me. His 2009 was a function of injuries, some WBC fatique — some reefer too, BTW — and generally letting himself go. His team weight was listed at something like 235 and there’s no way he wasn’t heavier than that.

I dunno, man. Guy seems like he’s always been pretty young for his leagues, at least until he hit AAA. He didn’t have a great year until he had repeated the PCL a couple times. I think it might be more likely that he’s one of those guys who had a fluky rookie year and is now settling into his true level. No need for PEDs to be involved at all.

His name is geovany……………. He wouldn’t dream of taking steroids…… It would make him grow more hair in places he keeps waxed…… Can’t sport the bananna hammock on the beach with man hair poppin’ out can he?

Oh believe me Craig, I know about the reefer and the fatness. I know too well how painfully out-of-shape he was and I know he had some shoulder problems. I’d love to give him the benefit of the doubt because he is one of the few Cubs regulars on the right side of 30. But I’m having trouble right now. His SLG history (from age 20 season on):
20 (A) – .316
21 (AA) – .401
22 (AAA) – .342
23 (AAA) – .386
24 (AAA) – .652
25 (MLB) – .504
26 (MLB) – .381
Another Cubs fan could correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t ever remember him being mentioned as a prospect until the crazy explosion in ’07. The Cubs looove to over-hype their prospects (Bobby Hill, Kevin Orie, Corey Patterson, Felix Pie, etc.) so why did I never hear about Soto?
I’m not saying it’s not possible that Geo is clean (non-THC division), but I’m just saying that when you look at his #’s, and his 40 LBS. weight loss this year, it just seems like there’s smoke. I will be following his performance with interest in ’10.

From a Sickels article in early 2008. Soto was on the radar. But being a high school kid from Puerto Rico, most people probably didnt know about him. So let’s lay off the unfounded roids accusations. Sometimes people get hurt and can have a bad season. And almost everyone gets stronger in their 20’s.
“Soto was drafted in the 11th round in 2001, out of high school in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico by the Cubs. He quickly drew notice as a solid defender with an adequate bat, reaching Triple-A in 2005 at age 22.”
“A right-handed hitter and thrower, Soto is listed at 6-1, 200 pounds. He weight as much as 230 pounds in the past, but went on a fierce workout and fitness program last spring with excellent results. Even when he was heavier, he was a good athlete, but losing the pounds has increased his quickness both offensively and defensively.”
“Soto is a career .280/.360/.426 hitter at the minor league level. Even before his 2007 outburst he showed a solid OBP and occasional power spikes. The general consensus among Pacific Coast League observers I spoke with last year was that the power increase last year was legitimate, but that the batting average would drop against big-league pitching.”
Soto is a career .280/.360/.426 hitter at the minor league level. Even before his 2007 outburst he showed a solid OBP and occasional power spikes.